NewsNewsMatamoros, Mexico strike of over 70,000 workers enters sixth day (Amid Media Blackout)Alex González and Andrea Lobo: Over 70,000 “maquiladora” workers from 45 factories in the US-Mexico border town of Matamoros, Mexico have entered the sixth day of their courageous struggle as more and more plants are paralyzed throughout the city. ... The strike could very soon disrupt global supply chains in the United States, Canada and Asia. ... The strike is affecting major suppliers to the "Big Three” automakers—GM, Ford and Fiat-Chrysler—as well as other manufacturers. Factories that are on strike include Autoliv, Inteva, Starkey, Edemsa, Aipsa, Cepillos, STC, Polytech, Kemet, Tyco, Parker and AFX. ... The workers are sharing information through Facebook ... The strike at Matamoros has been completely ignored by the corporate media. There is not a single article about the Matamoros strike in any of the major Mexican or international news outlets...[ Visit Website ]Jan 18, 2019, 2:15pm

NewsStacey Abrams’ Allies Sue Georgia, Alleging an Unconstitutional Election SystemPema Levy: The lawsuit cites an extensive list of voting problems in Georgia, including voter registration issues and Election Day snafus that prevented an unknown number of people from voting. It argues that the secretary of state and state board of elections systematically disenfranchised some voters and effectively disenfranchised others by creating conditions that made it harder for people of color to vote. ... The lawsuit asks a federal judge to force Georgia to change how the secretary of state and elections board administer elections in Georgia. The long list of requests include blocking the state’s current practice of purging infrequent voters from the rolls; ending the use of electronic voting machines without a paper trail; and ensuring that local election officials are properly trained so that inadequate equipment and misinformation do not not disenfranchise Georgia voters...[ Visit Website ]Nov 27, 2018, 3:23pm

NewsApocalyptic images show the unfathomable devastation caused by California’s deadly Camp FireLindsey Bever, Washington Post: The worst wildfire California has ever seen has destroyed the once-lush forest town of Paradise, leaving an unfathomable trail of death and destruction in its wake. ... By Tuesday morning, 42 people had been confirmed dead in and around Paradise, making the Camp Fire the deadliest wildfire in state history. Dozens of people are still missing, so the death toll is likely to rise. The fire also destroyed nearly 7,000 structures, most of them homes. No California wildfire has ever done more damage. ... [ Visit Website ]Nov 13, 2018, 2:37pm

NewsLeading US House Democrat demands that Ecuador’s president “hand over” Julian AssangeMike Head: The US is increasing its pressure on Ecuador to evict WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from its London embassy, where he took political asylum in June 2012. He would then be arrested immediately by British police and subjected to extradition proceedings to face trumped-up espionage charges in the US that could see him jailed for life or even executed. ... On Wednesday, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Relations Committee sent a threatening letter to Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno insisting that he “hand over” Assange to the “proper authorities” as a precondition for improving relations with the United States. ... “economic cooperation” and financial aid, depends on Ecuador terminating Assange’s political asylum...[ Visit Website ]Oct 18, 2018, 11:23am

NewsUS announces new barrier to citizenship for low-income immigrantsMeenakshi Jagadeesan: On Friday, US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielson signed a proposed new rule that will require all immigrants applying for permanent legal status or citizenship to provide evidence of their financial status, including applications for public benefits, proof of private health insurance and credit histories and scores. ... The rule is another major step in the Trump administration’s drive to create a class-based immigration system. ... According to the proposal, a credit check is needed to reveal an individual’s bill payment history, current debt, work history, bankruptcies and, most importantly, whether a person can be “self-sufficient” in the United States...[ Visit Website ]Sep 29, 2018, 11:59am

NewsUS Inmates Mark End of Prison Strike With Push to Regain Voting RightsEd Pilkington, Guardian UK: Inmates within America’s overflowing prisons are marking the end of a 19-day national prison strike on Sunday with a new push to regain the vote for up to 6 million Americans who have been stripped of their democratic rights. ... The strike was formally brought to a close on the anniversary of the 1971 uprising at Attica prison in upstate New York. Though details of the protest have been sketchy since it was launched on 21 August, hunger strikes, boycotts of facilities and refusal to carry out work duties have been reported in many states, from Florida and South Carolina to Washington. ... Now that the strike has ended, organisers hope its momentum can be sustained as they attempt to fulfill their demands including the restoration of the vote....[ Visit Website ]Sep 9, 2018, 3:03pm

NewsMonsanto Court Ruling Bolsters Hope for Millions of Vietnamese Victims of Agent OrangeViet Nam News: Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange have once again had their hopes for justice rekindled. But despite the recent landmark ruling against Monsanto in a San Francisco court, major obstacles remain on the path towards justice. ... The US chemical group Monsanto has long been associated with the Agent Orange devastation in Việt Nam. ... It was one of the main suppliers of more than 80 million litres of herbicides which contain Agent Orange that US troops sprayed over southern Việt Nam in the period from 1961-71 ... The Government of Việt Nam estimates that around 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed to the toxic substance. ... On April 18, 2017, the Monsanto Tribunal in The Hague, the Netherlands, after six months of investigation and two days of testimony, decided that Monsanto was guilty of ecocide, causing long-term consequences on the ecosystem of various nations, including Việt Nam....[ Visit Website ]Aug 29, 2018, 3:01pm

NewsNational Prison Strike Begins: Prisoners in 17 States Demand End to “Slave Labor” Behind BarsDemocracy Now: Prisoners across the country are set to launch a nationwide strike today (August 21 - on the 47th anniversary of the killing of Black Panther George Jackson, who was shot and killed by guards during an escape attempt from San Quentin prison) to demand improved living conditions, greater access to resources and the “end of modern day slavery.” Prisoners in at least 17 states are expected to participate in the coordinated sit-ins, hunger strikes, work stoppages and commissary boycotts from today until September 9—the 47th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising. ... Prisoners first called for the strike in April, after a bloody altercation broke out at the Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina, leaving seven prisoners dead and 17 others seriously injured. It was the deadliest prison riot in the United States in a quarter of a century. Six of the seven prisoners killed were African-American....[ Visit Website ]Aug 24, 2018, 12:20pm

NewsFlorida Police Chief Told Cops to Arrest Random Black People to Boost StatsCharles Rabin, Jay Weaver and David Ovalle, Miami Herald: The indictment was damning enough: A former police chief of Biscayne Park and two officers charged with falsely pinning four burglaries on a teenager just to impress village leaders with a perfect crime-solving record. ... But the accusations revealed in federal court last month left out far uglier details of past policing practices in tranquil Biscayne Park, a leafy wedge of suburbia just north of Miami Shores. ... “If they have burglaries that are open cases that are not solved yet, if you see anybody black walking through our streets and they have somewhat of a record, arrest them so we can pin them for all the burglaries,” one cop, Anthony De La Torre, said in an internal probe ordered in 2014. “They were basically doing this to have a 100% clearance rate for the city.”...[ Visit Website ]Jul 13, 2018, 1:43pm

NewsMichigan Judge Rules Kids Don't Have a Fundamental Right to LiteracyLori Higgins, Detroit Free Press: Few could dispute the importance of literacy. But children have no fundamental right to learn to read and write, according to a federal judge. ... The ruling came in a federal lawsuit that was closely watched across the U.S. because of its potential impact: Filed on behalf of Detroit students, it sought to hold a dozen state officials — including Gov. Rick Snyder — accountable for what plaintiffs said were systemic failures that deprived Detroit children of their right to literacy. ... The lawsuit sought remedies that included literacy reforms, a systemic approach to instruction and intervention, as well as fixes to crumbling Detroit schools. Earlier this month, officials with the Detroit Public Schools Community District said it would cost $500 million to bring school buildings up to par...[ Visit Website ]Jul 3, 2018, 3:04pm

NewsSupreme Court Punts on Gerrymandering, Keeps Partisan Maps in PlaceNina Sparling:How a Minority Party Stays in Power ... Partisan gerrymandering is alive and well after the United States Supreme Court opted not to issue a decision in pivotal cases from Wisconsin and Maryland ... The decision leaves states free to continue to draw election districts to gain partisan advantage. ... With the support of Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer, Justice Elena Kagan issued a concurring opinion that outlined something of a roadmap for how to build tighter cases around partisan gerrymandering going forward....[ Visit Website ]Jun 19, 2018, 11:51am

NewsEcuador Continues Playing Hardball With AssangeJames Cogan: On Monday Ecuadorian Foreign Minister María Fernanda Espinosa was elected to a one-year term as president of the United Nations General Assembly. On Tuesday she declared that her government would continue blocking WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange from all communications and deny him any personal visitors. On Wednesday it became 10 weeks since Ecuador’s government deprived Assange of his rights, which it is obliged to honor after granting him political asylum in its London embassy in 2012. ... After the vote, Espinosa again hinted that Ecuador is working to force Assange out of the embassy into the clutches of waiting police and the prospect of extradition to the United States on charges of espionage. She stated she was in discussion with both British authorities and Assange’s lawyers. “I think all parties are interested in finding an outlet, a solution, to this complex situation,” she declared...[ Visit Website ]Jun 7, 2018, 5:06pm

NewsBlack activist jailed for his Facebook posts speaks out about secret FBI surveillanceSam Levin, The Guardian, UK:Rakem Balogun spoke out against police brutality. Now he is believed to be the first prosecuted under a secretive US effort to track so-called ‘black identity extremists’ ... Balogun, who lost his home and more while incarcerated, is believed to be the first person targeted and prosecuted under a secretive US surveillance effort to track so-called “black identity extremists”. In a leaked August 2017 report from the FBI’s Domestic Terrorism Analysis Unit, officials claimed that there had been a “resurgence in ideologically motivated, violent criminal activity” stemming from African Americans’ “perceptions of police brutality”. ... The government’s own crime data has largely undermined the notion of a growing threat from a “black identity extremist” [BIE] movement, a term invented by law enforcement. In addition to an overall decline in police deaths, most individuals who shoot and kill officers are white men, and white supremacists have been responsible for nearly 75% of deadly extremist attacks since 2001...[ Visit Website ]May 11, 2018, 9:55am

NewsChurches make a drastic pledge in the name of social justice: To stop calling the policeJulie Zauzmer, Washington Post: Now, the church has joined a small handful of like-minded congregations with a radical goal: to stop calling the police. Not for mental health crises, not for graffiti on their buildings, not even for acts of violence. These churches believe the American police system, criticized for its impact especially on people of color, is such a problem that they should wash their hands of it entirely. ... The churches call their drastic approach “divesting” from policing. ... The churches that commit to ending their use of police resources are training members in alternate responses to danger ... As members discuss self-defense, they’ve also decided that they will not arm anyone at the church with any weapon...[ Visit Website ]Apr 21, 2018, 10:15am

NewsThe Mexican indigenous community that ran politicians out of town David Agren, The Guardian, UK:Cherán, in the violent state of Michoacán, will stand apart from Mexico’s electioneering season, having tackled corruption and exploitation by banishing political parties, police and gangsters ... “The only thing the parties have done is divide us,” said Salvador Ceja, Cherán’s communal lands commissioner. “Not just here – in the entire country.” ... Academics studying Cherán say the new council has largely contained corruption. Council members are paid modestly, and held to account by the neighbourhood assemblies...[ Visit Website ]Apr 3, 2018, 10:42am